NPD December + Whole Year

[dogbert]

Commentary from GameDaily:2007 was a magical year for the video game industry. The totals are in, and according to The NPD Group, as was expected the U.S. game industry posted sales of almost $18 billion ($17.94 billion to be exact) ? please note that this does not include PC game revenues. This represented a 43 percent jump over 2006. 2007 was definitely fueled by the console war as console hardware sales soared 73 percent to $5.12 billion. Overall hardware sales rose 54 percent, while total video game software sales for the year climbed 34 percent to $8.64 billion. Even video game accessories saw a significant 52 percent increase to $2.26 billion.

 

Looking specifically at December, when so much of the industry generates huge sales, the total dollar sales were $4.82 billion, up 28 percent over Dec. '06. Video game software rose 36 percent to $2.37 billion while video game hardware increased 17 percent to $1.83 billion.

 

Nintendo's DS handheld was easily the top selling video game platform in December with 2.47 million units. The rest of the hardware sales were surprisingly far more balanced, although the PlayStation 3 did still lag behind somewhat with 797.6K units sold. Nintendo's Wii sold 1.35 million compared to Xbox 360's 1.26 million, the PS2's 1.1 million and the PSP's 1.06 million.

 

BIZ: What does it say about the PS3 that it still couldn't break a million units in December when every other platform did?

 

AF: Actually, of the next-gen systems it realized the greatest month-over-month increase at 70+% of November unit sales. Of the ongoing viable systems in the marketplace, its growth was only "bested" by its sibling, the PS2. The software slate for the PS3 is still ramping up, and that is what we know will truly drive those big sales increases.

 

BIZ: As well as the DS has done for Nintendo, it seems growth in the portable sector was dwarfed by the growth of console hardware and software. Did portable take a backseat at all last year?

 

AF: Not at all. The DS captured the top spot for hardware sales for the year, and the PSP has grown a lot this year as well. Keep in mind that portable systems and games, in aggregate and on average, are less expensive than console. So looking at unit sales rather than dollar sales, portable gaming comprised 33% of the market in 2007, and that's the highest proportion on record. My perception is just the opposite: that portable gaming has been taken to a new level and it's now firmly established with an older demographic in addition to its traditional user base.

 

HW Sales

System December 2007 Annual 2007

PlayStation 2 1.1 million 3.97 million

PlayStation 3 797.6 K 2.56 million

PlayStation Portable 1.06 million 3.82 million

Xbox 360 1.26 million 4.62 million

Wii 1.35 million 6.29 million

Nintendo DS 2.47 million 8.50 million

 

 

Top 10 SW Sales

360 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION (CORP) NOV 2007 MATURE (M) *1 1.47 million

WII SUPER MARIO GALAXY NINTENDO OF AMERICA NOV 2007 EVERYONE (E) 2 1.40 million

PS2 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) *3 1.25 million

WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA FEB 2007 EVERYONE (E) 4 1.08 million

360 ASSASSIN'S CREED UBISOFT NOV 2007 MATURE (M) *5 893.7 K

360 HALO 3 MICROSOFT (CORP) SEP 2007 MATURE (M) *6 742.7 K

NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A NINTENDO OF AMERICA AUG 2007 EVERYONE (E) 7 659.5 K

PS2 MADDEN NFL 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS AUG 2007 EVERYONE (E) 8 655.2 K

360 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) 9 624.6 K

WII MARIO AND SONIC: OLYMPIC GAMES SEGA OF AMERICA NOV 2007 EVERYONE (E) 10 613.0 K

 

 

Top 10 SW Annual

360 HALO 3 MICROSOFT (CORP) SEP 2007 MATURE (M) *1 4.82 million

WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA FEB 2007 EVERYONE (E) 2 4.12 million

360 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION (CORP) NOV 2007 MATURE (M) *3 3.04 million

PS2 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) *4 2.72 million

WII SUPER MARIO GALAXY NINTENDO OF AMERICA NOV 2007 EVERYONE (E) 5 2.52 million

NDS POKEMON DIAMOND VERSION NINTENDO OF AMERICA APR 2007 EVERYONE (E) 6 2.48 million

PS2 MADDEN NFL 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS AUG 2007 EVERYONE (E) 7 1.90 million

PS2 GUITAR HERO 2 ACTIVISION (CORP) NOV 2006 TEEN (T) *8 1.89 million

360 ASSASSIN'S CREED UBISOFT NOV 2007 MATURE (M) *9 1.87 million

WII MARIO PARTY 8 NINTENDO OF AMERICA MAY 2007 EVERYONE (E) 10 1.82 million

 

*Includes Collector's, Limited, Legendary, Bundles (Guitars) Editions

[EnemaEms]

How did Rock Band and UT3 do?

 

-Dean-

[dogbert]

Don't know numbers, but for November + December, Rock Band apparently did $180 million at retail, which would probably translate to about 1 million copies, remembering it came as the bundle & without the bundle (for GH owners).

 

[From GameDaily]

 

BIZ: With Rock Band finally having launched on the more mass market and huge installed base of PS2 I was surprised not to see it in the top 10 in December either. Where did it end up and what's your assessment of Rock Band in its battle with Guitar Hero?

 

AF: Yes, that is one drawback to listing sales by unit sales order. Rock Band had a great debut, particularly considering its price point. Despite only two months at retail, and having an average retail price of over $160, it brought in sales (across platforms) of over $180 million. It's in the top 30 title list for the year. This is exactly the kind of title that has great potential to continue to grow sales since it's a social experience. Once someone tries it out with their friends, they're more likely to want to go purchase it for themselves. It didn't unseat Guitar Hero, but it certainly held its own.

[EnemaEms]

Wow! That is a lot better than I thought. EA and Harmonix have to be very happy. I have to say that it has surpassed Mario Galaxy as my Game of the Year. I can literally play it all day.

 

-Dean-

[JoeyN]

Microsofts response to NPD's. They are happy

 

In it they mention the Rock band numbers

 

“Rockband” continues to rock the charts, selling 463,000 units for the Xbox 360 platform, compared to 174,000 units for the PS3

[JoeyN]

Some more numbers for December

 

Mass Effect (Xbox 360) 401,000

Mario Party DS (DS) 385,700

Uncharterd: Drake's Fortune (PS3) 206,000

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Wii) 147,600

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS) 117,200

Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (PS3) 56,500

Nights: Journey of Dreams (Wii) 60,800

TimeShift (PS3) 25,000

[Zelex]

People can talk about "growth" all they want. HD DVD is also seeing substantial growth, but yet they aren't exactly winning the battle. When the bottom line reflects their boasting, then we will talk.

[dogbert]

People can talk about "growth" all they want. HD DVD is also seeing substantial growth, but yet they aren't exactly winning the battle. When the bottom line reflects their boasting, then we will talk.

 

Is this a Sony rant, Zelex? It's not clear quite who you're annoyed at

[EnemaEms]

Nice to see Uncharted do another 205,000 copies. Mario Party DS also deserves the sales. It is by far the best Mario Party in years.

 

-Dean-

[Christopher]

Nice to see Uncharted do another 205,000 copies.

It should have done twice that. This is a great game and every PS3 owner should go out a buy it.

[Christopher]

From the MS press release linked above in CaptDS9E's post:

To date, 33 third party games on Xbox 360 hit the top 10 list across all consoles compared to five third party games on PS3, and four on Wii. These results confirm that third party partners create better games and reap more sales on Xbox 360 than any other platform.

I imagine MS will be touting these numbers to every developer/publisher at the GDC. The success of third party titles almost eliminates the need for first party titles being released on the Xbox 360.

[foogledricks]

The success of third party titles almost eliminates the need for first party titles being released on the Xbox 360.

This is what I was getting at with the "Is there something wrong with Xbox Team" thread. If Microsoft believes that they have won the war they set out to win, which was to make the 360 the preferred platform for third parties, then their investment in 1st party titles can slow down. Perhaps this is what is happening and perhaps that list of "problems" are symptoms of Microsoft prematurely packing their bags having won the console war (from their point of view).

 

In my opinion, if Sony can so quickly fall of their pedestal, which was pretty damn high, then Microsoft can even more quickly fall off their pedestal which isn't nearly as high. So Microsoft should perform their most aggressive year yet if they're smart.

[Christopher]

In my opinion, if Sony can so quickly fall of their pedestal, which was pretty damn high, then Microsoft can even more quickly fall off their pedestal which isn't nearly as high. So Microsoft should perform their most aggressive year yet if they're smart.

I think MS has to now concentrate on Europe. Japan is a lost cause. North America is holding steady. If MS wants to stay in second place with a slight shot at becoming number one, MS must improve sales in Europe. A good start would be to stop treating Europe like one demographic and develop different sales tactics/ads for each individual country/market. If Japan can get a convenience store sim, the collective brain trust at MS must be able to find something that will sell to Germany/France/Italy/Spain ... etc. This would also have to be accompanied by a healthy price drop in North America and Europe would not hurt their efforts.

[Zelex]

Is this a Sony rant, Zelex? It's not clear quite who you're annoyed at

 

Not annoyed at Sony at all. More annoyed at the "wishful thinking" of the gaming press. It seems that no matter how it looks, they try to spin it like they are teh winnar! When reality reflects differently. I just don't understand how the press can twist reality like that without any kind of backlash.

[Zelex]

The bottom line is, I don't think the press are fools. So how can they neglect reality? How can they call themselves journalists if their reports are distorted? There was a time where integrity ruled and you were supposed to make your articles unbiased. What prompts them to make these decisions? Perhaps we will never really know the answers to these questions. Although, lets speculate a bit here for a second. What are the possible reasons for them making those decisions? They are bad journalists and just report what they feel instead of the facts, or Jeff Gerstmann's scenario isn't so uncommon. Perhaps it is more related to who advertises with them than not. In which case a quick counting of ads and then relate to positive or negative stories one way or the other would show a pattern. If that pattern is repeated often enough it shows that Jeff Gerstmann's scenario is in fact a common place event.

 

Now I don't have the time, or the will really to prove this one way or the other. I simply don't care enough.

 

I'll leave this post with some words of wisdom: One of the best way to overthrow an empire is to predict its downfall.

 

Executives are well aware of this fact.

[Romier S]

I've gotta be honest in saying I have absolutely no idea what in the world you're ranting about Zelex. At least in so far as how it pertains to the NPD. Your rant seems to be against gaming journalist distorting facts but there is nothing in this thread outside of sales figures and comparisons to years past.

 

If your rant is against the TeamXbox article stating the 360 is driving growth in the industry...well is it entirely shocking coming from Microsoft and a site called TeamXbox? I guess I have an understanding for your disdain of how certain publications (and it's worth saying "certain" because not all publications are alike) report the news but I'm struggling to understand what it has to do with the NPD.

[Josh]

[Zelex]

I've gotta be honest in saying I have absolutely no idea what in the world you're ranting about Zelex. At least in so far as how it pertains to the NPD. Your rant seems to be against gaming journalist distorting facts but there is nothing in this thread outside of sales figures and comparisons to years past.

 

My rant was about:

 

BIZ: What does it say about the PS3 that it still couldn't break a million units in December when every other platform did?

 

AF: Actually, of the next-gen systems it realized the greatest month-over-month increase at 70+% of November unit sales. Of the ongoing viable systems in the marketplace, its growth was only "bested" by its sibling, the PS2. The software slate for the PS3 is still ramping up, and that is what we know will truly drive those big sales increases.

 

This was without stating that the reason for the increase was primarily because of the price drop. Its implying that the PS3 is doing better than it actually is and that the pattern will continue. If the growth was outside of the price drop then the news would be much more significant.

[Zelex]

I suppose I did go off on a tangent and let out some frustration with game journalists in general. It wasn't totally applicable in this case. Everybody has to vent sometimes.

[General Zot]

It's ok Zelex, if nothing else it gives me a chance to stare at your avatar a little longer. She is making great strides on my personal NPD list this month.

 

I still hold that there will be no losers this generation. To point:

 

* Nintendo makes money on every console (& handheld) sold. If they have a zero attach rate they make money. Everything else is gravy.

 

* Sony will sell 10 million PS3s eventually just for the Bluray player included. Price drops another $50-100 and I'll be there myself, games or not. I need a Bluray player, why the heck not have one that plays MGS4 and is upgradable to future standards? They lose money on hardware but make it up with the one-two punch of games and BD movies.

 

* MS also makes money on every 360 sold, though with all the returns I'd bet it's ultimate break even. But they get $50 a year just for letting people ride ATVs online and shoot rockets off the back. And of course they sell a ton of software by being the easiest for PC conversion, said Live service, and hardcore gamer install base. They might want the brass ring, but they'll settle for a nice pile of cash in a pinch.

 

Which one of those business plans is not sound? They all are and so far they have all made money. No one is rocking this boat too hard, they're afraid the money will fall out.

[General Zot]

Something else of interest on that site, gaming on the rise due to the extended writers' strike:

 

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/as-writers-strike-continues-game-playing-on-the-rise/71341/?biz=

[Josh]

No offense Zot, but man... you guys need to update your 2006 facts. This is 2008. The PS3 doesn't cost so much to make anymore (http://www.neowin.net/news/gamers/08/01/15/playstation-3-now-costs-sony-400-to-manufacture) and there are games other than MGS4 for the PS3. Good ones. Games that are even *gasp* running better on that system than the 360 now. Even system exclusives that don't suck!

 

Meanwhile, MS is losing money on the 360. A lot. In the billions. From the Wiki on the 360:

 

However, despite these sales figures, Microsoft's gaming division is losing money. Through 2005, the Xbox gaming division had lost over $4 billion dollars.[89] However, Microsoft expects the console will start making money in 2008.[90] The losses are due to the market strategy of selling consoles below cost in order to obtain market saturation and gain profits on software and peripherals that have a much higher profit margin.[91][92] Also notable is that Microsoft expects it needs to spend one billion dollars for repairs or replacements of bricked Xbox 360s.

 

No arguments on the Nintendo side. They were smart and repackaged the Gamecube with a funky controller and spit out some more Zelda and Mario. Works for them.

 

Bleh. I'm tired of the misinformation. And people complain about journalists not fact-checking. I'm not trying to preach Sony here (I could give two f's what console you use), but this is getting ridiculous. Every month we go through the same thing: Nintendo is making money, Sony has nothing to play but is a BD player (which, fact: not as many consumers as you think care about), and Microsoft would be golden "if they could just fix this, that, oh, and this over here, too."

 

At what point does the 2006 mantra stop? At what point do we look at what's happening right now and pay attention to the trends instead of hypotheticals?

[foogledricks]

The losses are due to the market strategy of selling consoles below cost in order to obtain market saturation and gain profits on software and peripherals that have a much higher profit margin.

So this one non-specific statement implies that the $349.99 Xbox 360 actually costs more than $349.99 to make at this time. And that is the basis for your rant Josh. It's news to me and I bet for a lot of enthusiasts like me. So I guess your rant is justified. I really thought it cost less than that to make and I don't know why I thought that. I think part of it was that there was a lot of talk about how Microsoft wanted to move onto the Xbox 360 because the hardware would be much cheaper to make than the original Xbox, especially over time.

[Josh]

Well, that's just it. It's talk -- it's not fact. And, you're right -- they would love to show hardware profit (who wouldn't?) but it's just not there yet. As discussed earlier in this thread (or another, not sure), it would be in their best interest to keep the 360 rolling as long as possible and not move on to the 720 or whatever it'll be called.

[Zelex]

Bleh. I'm tired of the misinformation. And people complain about journalists not fact-checking. I'm not trying to preach Sony here (I could give two f's what console you use), but this is getting ridiculous. Every month we go through the same thing: Nintendo is making money, Sony has nothing to play but is a BD player (which, fact: not as many consumers as you think care about), and Microsoft would be golden "if they could just fix this, that, oh, and this over here, too."

 

At what point does the 2006 mantra stop? At what point do we look at what's happening right now and pay attention to the trends instead of hypotheticals?

 

Trends are by definition hypothetical. If you want to see reality, you have to look at the current state of things, which is MS has 2 to 3 times the number of consoles out there than the PS3 does, and correspondingly has 2 to 3 times the number of game sales. There is no indication that this will stop and any speculation of which is exactly that speculation.